Heros of hearts
by SorenTynanAynur
Summary: A few days after the USJ incident, the students in Class 1-A are back in class, but just before Mr. Aizawa informs them of the U.A sports festival, he introduces Sora and Riku, two new students who just transferred to U.A. high. I'd also like to thank SmartZelda for being a great cowriter
1. Chapter one

A few days after the USJ Incident, the students in class 1-A conversed as they would any other day before school. As usual, some stood around while others lounged at their desks, though today, many had the recent incident on their minds.

Kaminari leans back in his seat. "But man, all the channels made a big deal out of it."

"I was surprised," Kirishima admitted.

Jirou stopped playing with her earphone jacks as she sighed. "Can you blame them? The hero course that keeps pumping out pro heroes was attacked."

"But man, All Might was great." Sato threw punches in front of him as he continued his praise, "He pushed back those crazy strong villains."

"Yes, his strength is worth wondering at," Tokoyami agreed.

As the ring of the bell drew closer, the students scrambled to their seats, and an incoming burst of wind and quick footsteps drew closer to the classroom.

"Everyone! Morning homeroom is about to start!" Iida skidded to a halt before the podium at the front of the classroom, hands raised and outstretched. "Stop talking and take your seats!"

"We're already in our seats," someone remarked.

"You're the only one who's not," another said.

Some continued to stare at Iida as he finally took his own seat, pressing his fists down on the desk and grumbling. He was so stiff from the embarrassment his body shook. "Shoot!"

"Don't worry about it," Uraraka assured Iida from behind, tired.

Ashido leaned back in her chair, nearly falling back into Asui. "Tsu, who's…" she paused as Asui placed both hands on the back of her chair to keep her from falling. "...gonna teach homeroom today?" she continued.

"Well," Asui shifted her right hand from the back of the chair, placing her pointer finger to her chin in thought, "Mr. Aizawa is supposed to be in the hospital recovering from his injuries…"

"That's right…" Midoriya mutters to himself. "Mr. Aizawa did sustain a number of injuries at-"

"Morning."

The students' heads rapidly turned to the doorway, where a banged up, bandaged Aizawa stood. He wore two arm casts that covered the whole of his arms, including his hands, and his entire face was wrapped in bandages.

"Mr. Aizawa, you're back too soon!" the entire class exclaimed in shock.

"You're too much of a pro!" Kaminari decided, sweating nervously.

"So you're all right, Mr. Aizawa?" Iida asked, raising a hand, as Aizawa slowly walked up to the podium, two boys wearing the male school uniform behind him.

The taller one had short silver hair, one yellow and one red eye, and nearly transparent, colorful, bat-like wings that sprouted from his back. He also wore a black choker with two black bat-wing charms that dangle on either side of a pink charm in the shape of a strange symbol. The shorter had spiky brown hair, bright blue eyes, and, like a few other students, seemed to brighten the room up with just his presence.

"Can you really call that 'all right'?" Uraraka worries.

"My well-being doesn't matter." Aizawa stops at the podium, turning to face the class. "More importantly, the fight is not yet over."

"Fight?" Bakugo looked relatively unfazed besides the gleam of interest in his eyes.

"Don't tell me…" Midoriya was already worried.

"The villains again...?!" Mineta exclaimed, shaking in fear and sweating profusely.

Aizawa stared down the class through his bandages. "But before that-"

Iida raised his hand as he interrupted, "Mr. Aizawa, who are these new students?"

Bakugo shifted his eyes to the shorter one--the brunet--and insulted him, "Hey! Looks we got another weak shrimp!"

Though, no one paid any mind to Bakugo besides the taller boy, who clenched a fist.

Midoriya noted how the taller boy with silver hair looked more tired than Mr. Aizawa as he swayed, struggling to stay upright.

Aizawa motioned for the brunet to speak first. The boy started with a smile, "My name is Akarui Sora! My quirk is called Bonds of Heart. I hope we can all be friends one day!"

Of course, students such as Bakugo scoffed, while those such as Ashido grew smiles, excited by the prospect of making a new friend.

The silver-haired boy nearly fell asleep on his feet by time Sora finished, and Sora turned to him, his smile growing, as he gestured to him, "And this is Usugurai Riku! His quirk is called Dream Link!"

Confused, many students raised their hands to ask questions, and Sora randomly picked on someone, pointing at him. "Uh...you! I mean- Wait- I mean- You guy!" He shakes his arm, emphasizing who he's referring to. "What's your name?"

"Tokoyami," he answered bluntly.

"Yeah...Tokoyami!"

"What does Dream Link do?" he asked.

Riku opened his mismatched eyes as he yawned, "It allows me to see these invisible creatures called 'dream eaters' that most people can't really see."

Aizawa silently observed Riku, eyes narrowed.

~

For the first time during his night patrol, the streets were calm. The air was cool, and the only sounds in the air, besides outdoor sounds, were the white noise of occasional small groups of people, conversing as they strolled down the sidewalk. Aizawa just had this street to finish before he was done.

The silence soon broke as crying reached his ears, cutting through the white noise of a small group a few yards back. He readied his quirk, and once he turned the corner into a nearby alley, he saw a young, ten-year-old boy on his knees.

The boy's quirk was unlike one Aizawa had ever witnessed before. As the boy pressed his hands to his head and his cries escalated into screams, a visible, inky black wave grew and grew, until it finally surged outward.

The black wave condensed, taking the form of a large bird wearing mage cloak and hat that sat upon a broom. The bird looked at Aizawa, its eyes staring straight into his soul as it swooped down to attack him.

Instinctively, Aizawa held his arms up as a shield, but no pain came to him. Instead, an odd looking saber tooth tiger had jumped up to block the blow.

For a moment, Aizawa stared in awe as the tiger fought the bird, but as the little boy's cries reached him again, he sprang into action, using his fists to help fight, and his scarf to restrain the bird.

Once Aizawa and the tiger finally restrained the bird, pinning it down, it slowly flickered out of existence while the tiger merely faded into the night. The occurrence was strange, yes, but Aizawa took little time dwelling on it, rushing to check on the child after the strange animals disappeared.

Luckily, the little boy with silver hair seemed to be mostly unhurt physically--he did have some scrapes and bruises--but mentally, he seemed traumatized. Tears still streamed down his red face as he looked up Aizawa. "Please… P-please don't s-send me back home..." he stuttered, pleading weakly. "I… I-I can't... Not now… I can't f-face them… I...can't...f-face him…"

Poor kid. Why was he in an alley, and what was his quirk? What were those strange animals…?

~

Mineta raised his hand. "What's my dream eater?" Then, he turned to Midoriya. "Hey, Midoriya, you bet my dream eater is super cool?"

Midoriya smiles nervously. "Well, uh… Sure it could-"

Mineta brings a fist down on his desk. "I bet it's something cool! Like a lion! Or a dino! Or maybe it's-!"

After a moment of observing him, Riku nodded. "That's a Tama Sheep."

Mineta sat in shock for a moment before he started up again, "It must be the most powerful Tama Sheep ever! He's probably got huge horns and strongest like me! I bet he's super menacing!"

Riku slid a hand over his mouth, trying his best to contain his laughter as Mineta talked up and compared himself to a dream eater that was currently hiding under his desk, fast asleep.

Todoroki slowly raised his hand as he turned to Sora. "What does your quirk do, Akarui?"

Sora looked at him, "Call me Sora! So, uh...um...what's your name?"

"Todoroki Shouto."

Sora nodded. "Well, Shouto...my quirk depends on the bonds I have with people! The stronger the bond I have with my friends...the stronger I am!"

Shouto's brows furrowed in confusion. How does friendship make one stronger? It doesn't make any sense.

Midoriya, on the other hand, mumbled to himself as he furiously scribbled information about the new students into his notebook.

Riku's eyes shifted to Midoriya, deciding that, much like Sora, he seemed to stand out. However, Sora just stood out to him naturally. Midoriya...well...he stood out because he seemed a little odd. What could he be writing about? It was just introductions. It wasn't like they had to take notes or anything, or surely at least one other person would be doing the same. And why would your teacher make you take notes on new students anyways like that?

Riku continued to study Midoriya as he took his seat, and it wasn't too long before a very specific dream eater sitting on Midoriya's desk caught his eye. He had never seen it before. It seemed to be this gray cat, but the moment he blinked, a meow wow sat on the desk instead, making little sounds. Riku must've been seeing things. He was extremely tired, after all…

"Now that that's over with," Aizawa began with a tired sigh, "The U.A. sports festival is drawing near."

Riku yawned, dozing off as students cheered, "That's a super normal school event!" He practically felt the excitement emanating from Sora along with the rest of the class before he finally passed out.


	2. 2

"The… This… Some...took…"

Riku could barely hear Sensei Cementoss as he floated in and out of consciousness. What was the class? Wasn't...Modern Literature scheduled for this period?

He shifted his eyes up to the clock. He had to squint for more than a moment to combat the blurriness of tired eyes before he could figure out the time. Luckily, he figured, the class would be over in a minute or so, and he finally gave up trying to combat his drowsiness. He fell asleep, head tilted back.

It had been barely a minute or two before Riku slowly woke up, feeling something placed upon the middle of his upper back shaking him.

"Riku!" Sora called. "Wake up!"

Riku groaned as he exhaled into the desk his face was pressed up against. He slowly lifted his face from the desk as he struggled to open his eyes.

While Riku waited for his eyes to adjust to the light of the room, he turned his head to the Sora he could barely make out. "What?" Riku's voice was filled with annoyance.

Sora crossed his arms. "You want food, don't you?"

Finally, Riku could see decently. "Sure," he sighed, before the worried frown on Sora's face caught his eyes. "Sora," his tone of voice audibly shifted to one of concern, "What's wrong?"

"What do you…? Oh! I was gonna ask if you were okay, Riku."

"Why?"

Sora scratched his cheek as he answered, "Well...you fell asleep...and right after the bell rang, your face just fell and hit the desk so loud it scared us."

"Yeah!" a voice on the other side of Riku agreed.

Riku turned to the opposite side where Uraraka stood by his desk.

"It was like...bang!" Uraraka threw her arms out to emphasize the sound. "I just hope your poor face is okay," she smiled.

Riku lifted himself up from his desk, waving her off. "It's fine. Didn't even know it happened till Sora woke me up." He turned to Sora, who was now smiling. "So…"

"Riku." Sora took his hand. "Ochako invited us to eat with her and her friends. Wanna come?" His eyes lit up in excitement. Riku knew just how happy he probably was with the prospect of making a friend or two on the first day.

"Sure." Riku nodded. He had thought about saying no, but he didn't have the energy to refuse Sora, or a backup plan. Though, it's not like he could've refused Sora anyways, especially with the way Sora was smiling.

"Cool!" Sora drug Riku over to where Midoriya and Iida stood between desks.

"...so of course we would get fired up!" Iida pulled his arms to his sides, hands into fists, and moved his hips from side to side as he pumped his arms in a pedaling motion. It was an...interesting little dance to say the least.

Riku started to laugh as Sora exclaimed, "Wow! You gotta be really excited!"

Asui glanced back at Iida. "Iida, you have a unique way of getting fired up. It's weird."

Iida turned to Midoriya. "Midoriya, you don't feel the same?"

"Of course I do," Midoriya answered, his hands balled up. "But something…"

"Deku, Iida, Akarui, Usugurai…"

The four boys turned to Uraraka in confusion.

Uraraka had an intimidating face of confidence, and she spoke in a deeper voice than normal. Unwavering confidence emanated from her in waves. "Let's do our best at the sports festival."

"U-Uraraka, your face…!" Midoriya sweat nervously.

Iida adjusted his glasses, squinting, and Riku took a step back, while Sora's smile grew in fascination.

"It's…"

"What's the matter?" Ashido interrupted Midoriya after she stepped between him and Iida. "You don't look carefree at all, even though that's what your name means."

"She looks fired up!" Sora roared, throwing a fist in the air.

"Everyone, I'm gonna do my best!" Uraraka announced, throwing her own fist in the air.

Riku saw Uraraka's Me Me Bunny jump and move its arms and ears up and down as if to cheer her on.

"Yeah!" Midoriya, Iida, Ashido, and Asui answered back.

Sora turned to the other half of the class, an aura, very similar to Uraraka's, emanating from him. Like Uraraka, he seemed almost angry with how excited he was. "Yeah! She's gonna do her best!"

"Y-yeah…" came a weaker answer out of that half of the class.

Uraraka turned to Sora. "You do your best too!" she yelled at him.

"Let's both do our best!" Sora yelled back.

Riku saw Sora's Meow Wow roll around and bounce in extreme excitement. Too cute…

"What's wrong? Your personalities are all over the place," someone observed.

Sora and Uraraka warred back and forth, shouting for the other to do their best, till they both turned to the class. "Everyone, we're gonna do our best!"

Riku covered his mouth with a hand, muffling his short giggle, and it left a smile on his face. Eventually, he took Sora's hand and pulled him into the hallway, just as Iida and Midoriya both did the same with Uraraka.

The whole thing left Uraraka and Sora hung over their knees, laughing, but it wasn't long till they finally calmed down, and the group of five proceeded down the hallway on their way to the cafeteria.

"Uraraka." Midoriya turned to her.

"Yes?" she replied.

"Why did you decide to come to U.A. and become a pro hero?"

"Huh? Um…because…"

Riku frowned. He never thought about that. What were his classmates' reasons for wanting to become pro heroes?

"...Money…" she answered, embarrassed.

"Huh." both Sora and Riku frowned. They hadn't expected that to be Uraraka's reason.

Midoriya halted on the platform between staircases. "For money?! You want to become a hero for money?"

Uraraka furiously scratched the back of her head, cheeks flushed. "To boil it down simply, yes…" She quickly grew more nervous. "Sorry it's such an unwholesome reason!" she apologized, waving an arm out in front of her.

"But...it's still a reason, isn't it...? Like…" Sora crossed his arms in thought. "My goal...is to make friends with everyone and save a lot of people!" He puts a hand over his heart. "Either way, we save people!"

"I-I guess but…" Uraraka turned away, both hands on the side of her face as if to shield it from view. "You guys have such admirable motivations, it's embarrassing…"

"Why?" Iida steps forward. "How is having a goal to support your livelihood not admirable?"

"Right. But it's unexpected." Midoriya replied.

"Then...maybe she has another reason?" Sora offered.

"My family owns a construction company," Uraraka began, nervously running her fingers through her hair," but we haven't gotten any work at all, so we're flat broke. This isn't really something to tell other people, though…"

Iida, Midoriya, and Sora instantly went into thought. Sora crossed his arms over his chest while the other two put their hands under their chins.

"Construction…" Iida thought aloud.

Riku, on the other hand, just sighed. He didn't really care all that much. Uraraka wasn't his friend. It wasn't his job to pry unless something was wrong.

Midoriya gasped, turning to Iida as his hand dropped from his chin, smiling. "With her quirk, if she's licensed, then it'd bring costs way down, right?"

"She could make any raw material float. They wouldn't need any heavy equipment," Iida realized, smiling.

"Then she wouldn't be broke!" Sora exclaimed.

Uraraka did a one-eighty to turn to the boys, pointing to them as she jumped to her toes. "Right? That's what I told dad when I was little!" She cocked her head to the right, averting her eyes, as her expression and tone of voice shifted. "But…"

Uraraka's tone caught Riku's ears, and he mused pensively, "They probably just...wanted you to be happy… They wanted you to do it for you..." Like...Sora...

Facing the ground, Uraraka clenched her fists, bunching up the fabric of her skirt in her hands. "I'll definitely become a hero and make money," she confidently faced the boys, "and let my parents take it easy."

Iida and Midoriya tensed up at the declaration, the conviction in Uraraka's voice piercing their hearts, while Sora smiled.

Suddenly, Iida stretched his arms over his head and up to the sky, clapping furiously. "Bravo! Uraraka, bravo!"

Sora, Midoriya, and even Riku turned to Iida in surprise. As Iida continued to cheer, however, Uraraka smiled.

A loud laugh boomed down the hall, prompting the five students to turn in the direction of who turned out to be All Might.

"Young Midoriya is here!" All Might announced as he halted before the students, pointing straight at Midoriya.

Riku barely caught sight of the Kooma Panda that came after All Might down the hall before it barreled into him, pinning him to the ground. "Rhgg… Get...off…"

Sora immediately knelt down beside Riku after he fell to the floor, eyes filled with worry. "Riku, are you okay? What happened?!"

Iida also turned, along with All Might, Midoriya, and Uraraka. "Are you okay, Usugurai?!"

"Do you need-?"

"How can we-?"

Sora silenced Midoriya and Uraraka as he looked back at the rest of the group with a smile. "Don't worry about him. I'll handle it!"

The group continued to stare as Sora turned back to Riku. "Riku, what's going on?"

Riku grunted as he struggled to push the Kooma Panda off, "...D...Dream...e...eh...ea...eater..."

"...Dream eater…?" Sora wondered aloud. "Oh! Dream eater! There's a dream eater on you?"

"...Y...yrhg...ye...eh...yes…"

He should've guessed by the way Riku's face looked pressed in and all mushed. "Why don't you just use your quirk?"

"...S...Sora…" Riku forced out, slightly annoyed. He knows the limitations of that.

It took Sora a moment before he realized with a sigh, "Oh, right…" He turned back to the still confused group, observing each aloud and pointing to them in turn.

"...No...can't be him...not Uraraka...who'd have a big dream eater...maybe… Aha!" Sora pointed straight at All Might, eliciting a look of extreme confusion from the hero.

"Wha-?"

"All Might!" Sora interrupted the hero. "Could you give Riku consent? He can't fuse with your dream eater without it."

"Consent? Um...sure…" All Might answered, scratching his cheek in confusion. What's up with the new kids?

"So…" All Might began, "You mean like… Young Usugurai, I give you consent to...fuse with my dream eater?"

"That works," Sora shrugged. Then, he turned to Riku. "Okay, try now!"

Riku gave one last grunt before a short burst of light filled the area. Once the light dissipated, he stood up, and his body was haloed in a soft purple light. He held a large hammer fashioned from the same color of light in his right hand.

"Ooooh!" Sora stared at his best friend, starry eyed. "I love that one!"

Riku smirked as the light haloing him dissipated along with the hammer. "Sora, how'd you know it was All Might's dream eater?" Riku inquired.

"Well…" Sora scratched the back of his neck. "I sorta…guessed? It seems to be a big one and I thought it would probably be All Might's."

"Fair enough," Riku laughed before stepping back up to join the group. "Uh...sorry, guys… Carry on…"

All Might nodded slowly as the rest of the group turned to him.

"So, uh… All Might, what's the matter?" Midoriya asked, his eyes widening as the embarrassment kicked in. Even after all that time they spent training together, it still felt weird to Midoriya when All Might talked to him in public. It always felt like all eyes turned on him the moment he was in All Might's presence, and that always caused his anxiety to kick in.

"Oh, right!" All Might pulled something wrapped in a blue cloth with a white bunny pattern on it from behind his back, holding it by the knot at the top. "Lunch! Wanna eat together?"

Uraraka would've spit out water had she had it in her mouth as she exclaimed, "He's like a maiden!"

"How about it?"

Midoriya turned back to Iida, who was equally wide-eyed. Iida soon nodded, prompting Midoriya to turn back to a smiling Sora, who said, "You gotta go for it!"

"I'd love to." Midoriya, as his head turned back forward, jogged after All Might as he started down the hall. Was he really worthy to be around All Might?

The group started towards the cafeteria once again, and Sora turned to Riku in mild concern. "Riku, you're okay, right? I didn't ask earlier and I had to be sure…"

"I'm-" Riku's hand flew to cover his mouth as he coughed into it. His hand came away smeared with blood across the palm and fingers, but he just curled his fingers up, forming a fist, and let it drop down to his side to hide it. "I'm fine."

Sora looked at Riku, concern etched into his face. "Are you sure, Riku?"

"I said 'I'm fine'," Riku answered, no emotion in his voice.

Of course, Sora knew the limitations of Riku's quirk.

~

"I wonder what he wanted with Deku."

Sora, who was standing beside Riku in the lunch line, addressed Uraraka. "I wondered that too," he admitted.

"I heard that when All Might was attacked by villains during the USJ incident, he rushed out alone to help," Iida said. "Perhaps it's about that?"

Uraraka hammered a fist down on her flattened palm. "Oh, yeah!"

"Probably!" Sora nodded.

"Remember what Asui said on the bus?" Iida continued.

Uraraka nodded in understanding as Sora cocked his head in confusion.

"The boundless power they both have are similar, too, so maybe All Might has taken a liking to him."

Uraraka nodded vigorously, though Sora nodded slowly, brain in thought.

"Maybe All Might and Midoriya are close..." Riku muttered to himself.

Iida tilted his head up at the ceiling as he closed a hand into a fist. "He's amazing."

Sora nodded. "He is! But...what did Asui say on the bus?"

Uraraka hung her head. "...Oh, I'm sorry, Sora! We forgot you weren't there…!"

Iida began furiously bowing. "Oh, I am sincerely sorry. As the class rep I should remember these things. Of course you wouldn't know-"

"Don't worry, guys!" Sora waved them off, a nervous look on his face. "Just...what did she say?"

Riku stopped listening as Iida and Uraraka began apologize-explaining to Sora about what happened on the bus. Instead, he caught the eyes of Todoroki in front of them in line and frowned. Why is he staring at us?

Todoroki's own frown deepened as he saw Riku looking at him, and he turned his head back to the front.

Riku's eyes still bore into Todoroki's back, even as the line kept on moving. What is he planning…? Sora put a hand on his shoulder once they reached the front of the line, diverting Riku's attention from Todoroki to him.

"Riku, what are you staring at? We can finally load up with food!"

"It's nothing," Riku chuckled, forcing a smirk.

Of course, Riku did get normal food like white rice, but when Sora looked over at Riku after they, Iida, and Uraraka sat down, he laughed.

Riku, who hadn't even touched his food yet, turned his head to Sora in confusion. "What's so funny?" And when Sora continued to laugh, he asked, "What? Do I have something on my face?"

Finally, through his laughter, Sora answered, "That's...a lot…a lot of sweets, Riku."

Riku rolled his eyes, "It's not that much."

"Even I didn't get that much taiyaki! Where's my Riku? The one who, a couple years ago, could barely eat a piece of cake? I thought I was supposed to be the one with the sweet tooth!"

Riku hung his head, staring down at one of his hands on the table. "Oh… So you don't like me now, huh…?"

Sora frowned and put a hand on Riku's shoulder. "Riku, stop. You know I'm joking. Of course I like you, you're my best friend."

Riku opened the hand he was staring into. He'd stopped at the bathroom to wash his hands before he, Sora, Uraraka, and Iida got to the cafeteria, so the blood wasn't there anymore, but it was as if he could still feel it as a reminder. I still need to get stronger. If I can't even link for a few seconds without coughing up blood, how can I-

"Riku."

Riku looked up, Sora's voice having shocked him out of his thoughts.

"Are sure you're okay? You still haven't touched your food."

Sora looked concerned, and it caused Riku's chest to ache, but he forced a smile. "I'm fine. I promise." I can't have you worrying about me...

Sora didn't look convinced. "Riku-"

"Hey, relax." Riku picked up one of the Taiyaki and took a bite from a fin. "See? I'm fine."

"Well-"

"Hey, Usugurai!" Kirishima appeared behind Sora and Riku. He gave a wave to Sora, Iida, and Uraraka. "Hey, Akarui! Hey, guys!" He scratched the back of his neck as he turned back to Riku. "So, I heard you can see Dream spirits?"

"Yeah," Riku sighed. "I can see all dream eaters. Why?" Riku finished the first taiyaki and took a bite of a second.

"Yeah! Dream eaters. I just got curious and… Could you tell me what mine is?" He laughed nervously, "And maybe if you don't mind, you could check for my friends too?" Kirishima gestured back to his table where Bakugo, Kamanari, Sero, and Ashido were sitting. "Even Bakugo seemed interested, and he rarely ever seems interested in-"

"I could care less about his stupid quirk, shitty hair!"

Kirishima gave a laugh at Bakugo before turning back, awaiting Riku's answer.

Riku swallowed his last bite of the second taiyaki and sighed, "...I gue-"

"Wait, Riku!" Sora interrupted. "Eijiro, I'm sorry," Sora frowned, "but Riku isn't doing so well right now. Maybe tomorrow?"

"It's okay, Sora."

"But, Riku!"

"Akarui's right, Usugurai. If you're not feeling great-"

Riku interrupted Iida, giving a small smile, "Hey, I'm fine. And it's not like I have to do more than take a look."

"...Fine," Sora released a breath.

"It's not more than a look. No strain," Riku reassured Sora.

"I know," Sora sighed. I'm just...worried...

"Okay…" Riku's eyes shot around the room. "Where… Ah! There." Riku chuckled, "You're lucky this is a big room. So...yours is a Tyranto Rex."

Kirishima's eyes widened in excitement. "What's it look like?"

"...Well...I can't...exactly show you and it's hard to describe, but… Let's just say...it looks like a colorful t-rex."

"Oh, I get it," Kirishima nodded. "How about...Akarui's?"

"Meow Wow," Riku answered immediately. He could never forget Sora's dream eater.

"What's a...Meow Wow?"

"It's sorta like…"

"Imagine a cat and a dog had baby," Sora answered.

"Wow, can you see em too?!" Kirishima wondered.

"No." Sora shook his head with a laugh. "Riku tried to explain it to me once, and turns out I see it in my dreams sometimes."

"Oh...that makes sense…" Kirishima turned back to Riku. "And...Bakugo's?"

Riku stood up from the table to go over to Kirishima's, and Sora took in a breath.

"It looks like his is…"

"What are you doing?!" Bakugo demanded.

Riku peeked under the table, finding a purple ball of spikes with big, round, purple eyes. It had blue and green ears and feet as well as a tail with a purple spike ball at the end, and was currently stomping around. "Oh, there."

"Hey!"

Riku sighed, giving an annoyed look to Bakugo. "You asked me. Calm down if you really wanna know."

Bakugo growled, but he shut up, and rested his angry face on his hand.

"Okay. It's called a pricklemane. It's a cute, purple ball of spikes, but according to its eye color, it's quick to lose its temper. Currently, it's stomping around under there."

Bakugo growled again, "Waste of time!"

"Pricklemanes will act like all tough on the outside, kind of like you, but they usually have a heart of gold. Don't know if I can say the same about you, yet." Riku joked as Bakugo yelled at him.

Riku ignored Bakugo as Kirishima held him back, and he sat back down beside Sora. He mostly focused on eating the rest of his food, especially the sweets, while Sora talked with Iida and Uraraka.

Once the bell rang, Riku and the rest dealt with any dishes and leftovers, and Riku and Sora walked side by side as they followed Iida and Uraraka to class.

Sora looked up at Riku and slipped his hand into his. He squeezed Riku's hand, and the look he gave him said, "Be careful. You know you can always tell me what's wrong."

The sad smile Riku gave back said, "I know."


	3. Chapter 3

Sora and Riku stood before the door to Sora's apartment.

"Riku, I-" Sora looked up at Riku with a sad look of concern before squeezing his hand. "I know you're having nightmare problems, but please just… Try to get some sleep tonight, alright? I know you're not okay."

Riku sighed, "I'll...try…"

Sora let go of Riku's hand and turned to wrap his arms around him, burying his face into Riku's chest. "Please, Riku. If you don't get some sleep, you'll burn out. I'm just...worried about you…"

"It's okay." Riku hugged him back, resting his head on Sora's shoulder. "I'll be fine. I won't burn out."

"You better not," Sora chuckled as he pulled out of the hug and wiped his eyes. Were those tears?

"Just...don't worry about it. I'll see you tomorrow." Riku forced a small smile as Sora gave his own big smile back, before he waved back at Riku and walked into his house.

Riku let his face relax again once Sora closed the door. He lingered for a moment, his heart tugging him forward, but he eventually started off towards his own home to get changed into different clothes.

When Riku departed from his own apartment, he had on plain gray sweatpants and a red sweatshirt. He started down the sidewalk as if he was merely taking a walk, but soon ducked into a back alley. It was dark, but his eyes had adjusted to the night by now.

Soon, he was able to see the outline of a person, and as he approached, he was sure who it was. "Hi, Aizawa-sensei." Riku gives him a small wave before sticking his hands into his sweatshirt pockets.

Aizawa was still in his hero outfit despite his injuries. "Let's go," he commanded.

Riku followed him as he began to walk away, deeper into the alley maze. Luckily, he didn't have to squint anymore once Aizawa's dream eater-a Keeba Tiger named Taigāsupiritto-joined Aizawa's side, and it wasn't long after that they emerged out on the sidewalk, finally out of the maze. Riku knew where he was then, so he sped up to walk on the other side of Taigāsupiritto. He cautiously reached down to touch its fur as he walked, but once he heard a soft purr of acceptance, he smiled, stroking its fur.

Aizawa coughed to get Riku's attention once they arrived at one of UA's old training grounds. Old training grounds like this one were always made with multiple terrains. Still, most were either abandoned or repurposed. It was found more effective to have areas dedicated to single terrains for training, and the eventual establishment of the USJ facility covered the few advantages the old training grounds had over the new.

This particular old training ground used to be called "Ground Chi", "Ground Kai", or even "Ground Key", and it was constructed as a miniature city similar to Ground Beta, but also contained a simple park and small forest, as well as a small lake.

"That Taigā?" Aizawa asked, referring to Taigāsupiritto, once he had Riku's attention, and Riku nodded, dropping the hand he was using to pet said dream eater.

"Usugurai. Bond with your dream eater."

Riku gave Aizawa a look, eyebrows scrunched up. "Why, Aizawa-sensei?"

Aizawa coughed before answering, "You're honing your body well, but you also need to hone your quirk if you want to get stronger. This means testing the limits of your quirk." Then, he jumped back into his fighting stance. "Bond with your dream eater and fight me."

Riku nodded, and closed his eyes. He focused on the beat of his heart until it was the only sound he could hear, and imagined Komory Bat. Once he finally opened his eyes, his usually limp wings had flared out, his whole body surrounded in a shadowy purple aura. Since Riku was used to fusing with his own dream eater, the process had only taken a moment.

Normally, Aizawa would throw his special scarf here, not giving Riku even a second to think, in an attempt to restrain him right off the bat, but he had both his arms in casts, making that move impossible. Riku's reflexes had grown since he began training with Aizawa, so he swiftly dodged the would be attack, not realizing his mistake till afterwards.

Immediately after dodging, and cursing himself internally, Riku broke out into a run, straight at Aizawa, using his wings to propel him forward faster. He raised his right hand, shadowy purple claws extending from his hands and feet just as he swiped down at him.

Aizawa's eyes grew wide as he jumped backwards, Riku's claws barely making a small tear in his sleeve. "Good. Try to be even faster," Aizawa suggested as Riku followed his first attack up with a kick.

After the two exchanged blows for a minute, Aizawa shouted, "See if you can handle two!"

Riku's upper back between his wings began to tingle as he started to jump back. "Ack-" He coughed into his elbow mid jump, and once he landed, he held his arm up, staring at the small droplets on it. Surely he's nearing his limit...

_Push your limits_, Aizawa's voice rang in his head.

So, Riku closed his eyes once more, let the sound of his heartbeat block out all other sounds, and imagined Taigāsupiritto. Then, once he opened his eyes, his wings were still extended, and his body was haloed by a soft blue light. In his hand, he found a rapier, seemingly made of the same soft blue light. This was one of the few times Riku had ever fused with Taigā, so the process was at least a minute longer. It would have been longer if not for his closeness to Aizawa.

Aizawa's eyes widened upon seeing Riku's new glowing form. Although he had seen it a couple times before, he was not as used to dealing with it as with Riku's previous form. Additionally, he couldn't use his arms or his special scarf to fight due to his injuries, so he had to be more cautious when dealing with it.

Riku didn't hesitate. He immediately thrust forward with his rapier of light, twisting it.

This time, Aizawa barely managed to dodge, but the air shooting up on either side of Riku from his attack put Aizawa off balance. So when Riku jumped into the air after his attack and dove back down, slashing in a wide arc, Aizawa did not go unscathed. Riku's attack created a large tear in Aizawa's shirt across his chest, even creating small tears in the casts near his hands.

Riku flew back into the air, preparing to attack again from the opposite direction, but mid-way through his dive at Aizawa, the tingling in his upper back spiked, resulting in a momentary second of intense sharp pain, and he plummeted to the ground. The blue aura and rapier of light disappeared shortly after the impact.

"Something's wrong," Aizawa muttered to himself as he rushed over to Riku. "Usugurai!"

The odd pink symbol on Riku's choker began to glow, pulsing with the pain in his back, and a cry tore out of his mouth, "Sora!" In an instant, Riku shot to his feet, almost like he hadn't just been lying on the ground. Without thinking, he fused with Komory Bat and leapt into the air. All sounds around him drowned out into background noise as he made a beeline for Sora's house.

Aizawa took chase, but Riku flew so fast, propelled by his bond with Sora and sense of urgency, that he was soon left in the dust.

Everything after Riku taking off towards Sora blurred in his memory as he dove through the open window in Sora's room, rolling across the carpet to decrease the toll landing at such a high speed had on his body. With the adrenaline still pumping, he shot to his feet again, and his eyes widened as the multitude of nightmares in the room turned towards him.

There were nightmares of all kinds in Sora's room-so many that Riku couldn't even see Sora himself. He could only feel his fear and pain as his own, and hear his restrained cries.

Riku instantly sprung into action, using his claws to swipe at the first wave of nightmares coming at him. _This… How did he possibly accumulate so many nightmares?_

Riku destroyed the first wave of nightmares with quick, easy swipes, but it was quickly followed up with the second wave. _He's never gotten into this state before I've finished training before!_

It took hours before Riku delivered the last blow, striking down the final nightmare, which revealed Sora, still trembling under the covers.

Though it took only about five minutes for Sora's heart rate to decrease, his body to stop trembling, and for his cries to die down, for the stabbing pain in Riku's upper back to fade away, and for the strange symbol on Riku's choker to stop glowing, Riku wished more than anything that he knew what was causing Sora to accumulate such terrible nightmares.

_If I could… If I could only just take the pain away so he never had to go through this…_

Ideally, Riku could just dive into Sora's dream and destroy the nightmare at its source, solving the problem without having to destroy each individual nightmare, but he knew the risks involved with doing so. He shook his head vigorously after even considering trying to dream dive the next time, and his forehead began to pulse, harder and harder as he agonized over his fears.

_I can't… I can't lose control again… If I accidentally let something out and I almost hurt Sora again I couldn't… I couldn't… I couldn't handle-_

A sudden weight hit Riku's shoulders like a ton of bricks, bringing him to his knees, and shocking him out of his thoughts, but it had no effect on his anxiety induced headache. His eyes widened as he realized his strength was fading along with the adrenaline. Since Sora was now safe, he had no more reason to act, but he knew he couldn't let himself fall here.

So, Riku mustered up the last of his strength and let his fading adrenaline carry him out Sora's window. He barely managed to make it to his own room in his own house, and he collapsed immediately upon reaching his bed.

_I definitely...can't...let Sora…_

A yawn escaped Riku's mouth before his eyes drew closed, and his fatigued mind drifted off to sleep.

Riku drug his feet all the way to Sora's house, struggling to keep his eyes open. He had barely gotten a few minutes of sleep before the sunlight filtering through the window pelted his tired eyes, forcing him awake. He had to force himself to get up to walk to Sora's house.

Sora was already standing in front of his apartment, waiting for Riku. As always, the light from the sun illuminated Sora's signature spikes of hair, and would accent his smile, but this time, it highlighted a deep frown, and a concerned pair of eyes.

"Good morning, Sora…" Riku said, forcing a smile.

"Riku…" Sora looked down at his feet, the sad concern evident in his voice. "You… You didn't get _any_ sleep, did you?"

It was a loaded question, and Riku could only sigh without answering.

"You look so _tired_. You _have_ to do something about this."

"It's...just insomnia." Riku hesitated to place a hand on Sora's head, ruffling his hair. "I'll be fine."

"Riku. You _always_ say that," Sora commented. "Let me help you."

Riku shook his head, letting his hand slip from Sora's hair back to his side. "I can handle-"

"Please." Sora looked up at Riku with pleading eyes, still shining with concern, and took one of Riku's hands in his own. "Let me help."

Riku's cheeks dusted pink as he finally conceded, "O...okay…"

A huge smile grew onto Sora's face as he said with conviction, "Don't worry, Riku. I promise I'll help you with this so you can finally sleep!"

Riku spent most of the morning nodding off. He was unsure whether he was really awake or asleep the whole time, and retained no information. Everything faded into the background as he focused all his energy on trying to stay awake.

Sora insisted on holding Riku's hand as the class followed All Might to a training ground for Hero Studies, and Riku neither complained, nor did he register in his daze what was going on, nor that someone was holding his hand. Sora led Riku all the way there, and put his hands on his shoulders once they arrived.

"Riku."

"...I'm...okay...So...ra…"

"Riku, are you sure? Maybe I should take you to Recovery Girl to rest. Can you even-?"

Riku nodded slowly, putting his energy into a reassuring smile. "I'm...f-fine…"

But the moment Sora lifted his hands from Riku's shoulders, a skeptical look on his face, fatigue fell on Riku like a ton of bricks, and his legs broke out from under him as his eyes flew closed.

"Riku!" Sora yelled, immediately falling into a crouch beside him.

Riku groaned as he woke up, shifting in his place as he tried to open his eyes. It wasn't until he finally forced his eyes open that he realized just where he was.

"When...did I get…"

_To the nurse's office…?_

Riku narrowed his eyes as he began to go over what had happened in his head, but he couldn't reach a conclusion until he heard a deep sigh from his bedside, and he quickly turned his head.

"Oh…" Riku said, letting his body relax after seeing the man who stood there. "Hey...Aizawa-sensei…" he said, nervously.

Aizawa was hunched over, looking tired as usual, and his arms were finally in fresh casts. Even his shirt had been mended by someone. Though tired, he sighed again, a bit angrily, "I'm not your parent, Usugurai."

Riku sighed, "...Yeah. I know."

"I don't care when you go to sleep. _But_ if you want to be a hero, you can't let yourself fall asleep on the job!" he scolded.

Riku rolled his eyes. _Here we go…_

"If you don't get enough sleep, it hinders the ability of your body to function. Remember that a hero has to be able to think on his feet. He can't be passing out on them."

Riku narrowed his eyes and opened his mouth as if to say something. _What?!_ "Sensei!" Riku eventually burst out, after fumbling for words. "_You_ wear a yellow sleeping bag to class! You sleep on all your breaks!"

"_I_ do most of my work during the night," Aizawa retorted. "That aside, Usugurai..." He turned back to Recovery Girl, "Can you keep this a secret for us?"

"What? Sure. Of course," Recovery Girl answered, finishing with a chuckle. "Might as well add _another_ to my memory," she remarked in a sarcastic tone.

Aizawa sighed, turning back to Riku. "What was last night about?!" he whispered. "You left in the middle of training after falling mid attack. Why did your necklace glow?"

Riku didn't answer, so Aizawa added, "I tried to chase you down, but you left me in the dust. What could've possibly been so important?"

Riku glared at him for a moment before sighing. His eyes flitted left and right as he searched for the right words.

"Usugurai."

Riku glared at Aizawa again, choosing his first words carefully in annoyance, "I'm _doing it_...so my best friend can sleep in peace." His last few words were almost melancholy.

Aizawa asked Riku, his face scrunched up in confusion under the bandages, "What do you mean by that? What's wrong with him?"

"Nightmares," Riku stated, narrowing his eyes again. "Dream eaters."

Aizawa pried no further, because he knew he would get no more out of Riku after he answered like that. He sighed as he turned to leave, but he stopped in the doorway. "Get some sleep. No training tonight."

It took a moment for what Aizawa said to register in Riku's brain. "...No training…" he mumbled to himself. "But… Aizawa-sensei-!"

But he was already gone.

Riku sighed, letting his gaze drift to the ceiling, before he heard the sound of a chair rolling across the room towards him. He didn't shift his gaze, just listened as Recovery Girl spoke.

"You know… That boy who accompanied the infirmary bots here-the one with that brown hair and all the spikes." She let out an amused laugh, "He insisted on staying here before I made him go back to class. He must really care about you."

Riku swallowed the lump forming in his throat, and was unaware of his reddening cheeks as he informed Recovery Girl, "No, he's… He's just like that...for everyone…"

Recovery Girl sounded unconvinced. "Uh huh…"

By the time Riku escorted himself back to class and fell into his seat, the class had started to pack up, preparing to leave, so he took a moment to rest, letting himself doze off, since someone had already gathered his things up for him.

Uraraka gasped as she stood before the doorway, Midoriya and Iida doing the same from behind her.

It wasn't until Riku finally stood up from his seat to stand behind Sora that he understood, his eyes widening.

"Wh- What's going on?" Uraraka exclaimed.

Blocking the doorway from the outside was a sea of students.

Sora walked up to join Uraraka's side and stood way up on his tiptoes, trying to see the edge of the crowd. "Riku." Sora turned around. "What do you think they're doing here?"

"I don't know." Riku shook his head.

Iida stuck an arm out, demanding, "What business do you have with Class A?"

Mineta rushed forward beside Iida, panicking. "We can't get out!" Then, he threw a fist in the air and demanded, "What'd you come here for anyway?"

Bakugo swaggered passed him, not even taking a glance at him as he spoke. "Scouting out the enemy, small fry."

Mineta pointed a finger at Bakugo as he turned to Midoriya in shock. Midoriya himself did his best to calm him down, reminding him that it's just the way Bakugo is.

"The enemy…?" Sora wondered aloud.

"We're the ones who made it out of the villains' attack," Bakugo explained.

Riku understood. "So they probably want to check us out before the festival."

Bakugo didn't answer Riku. Instead, he planted his feet a foot before the doorway and glared at the sea of students, his head held high. "There's no point in doing stuff like that. Out of my way, extras!"

Uraraka gasped as Midoriya trembled, afraid of what could come next.

Sora threw a fist in the air. "That's rude, Kacchan!"

"Stop calling people "extras" just because you don't know them!" Iida scolded.

Bakugo grit his teeth, preparing to shoot something back, before a single student began to speak, his footsteps echoing in the surprisingly quiet hallway as he slowly maneuvered to the front.

"I came to see what the famous Class A was like, but you seem pretty arrogant," the student remarked. "Are all the students in the hero course like this?"

Riku walked up to join Sora's side again. _You think __**we're**_ _arrogant?_

The students in the class, save Riku and Sora, who knew Bakugo by now, tensed up, shaking their heads vigorously as Bakugo clenched both of his fists, growing more and more pissed.

The student finally made his way to the front and stood before Bakugo, reaching his left hand behind to scratch the back of his head. "Seeing something like this makes me disillusioned."

The student himself was a male, and the only things about his looks that stood out was his raised bush of lavender hair and his tired eyes, similar to Aizawa's.

Riku scoffed. _He sure is bold. Does he think we're the annoying ones?_

The student continued to speak, "There are quite a few people who enrolled in general studies or other courses because they didn't make it into the hero course. Did you know that?"

Bakugo glared at the student again and gave a short, but angry, sigh.

"The school has left those of us a chance. Depending on the results of the sports festival, they'll consider our transfer into the hero course. And," he added, "it seems they may also transfer people out."

Shock rippled through the whole of Class 1A, and many bodies went stiff.

Was this really possible? Could they really be _replaced_?

"Scouting out the enemy?" The student repeated Bakugo's words from earlier. "I, at least, came to say that even if you're in the hero course, if you get too carried away, I'll sweep your feet out from under you."

It was a clear threat, but the student summed his words up better himself, "I came with a declaration of war."

_Definitely bold. Definitely annoying_, Riku decided. _Can he really back up a claim like that?_

Bakugo and the student glared at each other in a staring contest, before another student burst to the front.

"Hey, hey! I'm from Class B next door!" the student exclaimed with angry passion. "I heard you fought against villains, so I came to hear 'bout it! Don't get so full of yourself!"

_Great. Another one._ Riku sighed, facepalming.

"If you bark too much, it'll be embarrassing for you durin' the real fight!"

Having had enough, Bakugo walked to the right.

The second student, a bulkier male with short, bushy gray hair and sharp teeth, grew angrier. "You ignoring' me, bastard?!"

Kirishima stumbled back to where Sora, Riku, Uraraka, Midoriya, and Iida stood, and all heads of Class A turned to him as he spoke. "Wait a minute, Bakugo! What're you gonna do about all this? It's your fault that everyone's hating on us!"

Bakugo stopped in his tracks, and turned his head only to look at Kirishima. "It doesn't matter."

"Huh?!" Kirishima raised an eyebrow.

"It doesn't matter as long as you rise to the top."

Kirishima's face relaxed, and Bakugo walked into the sea of students, certain students clearing a narrow path for him to push through.

"Damnit, you bastard!" the second student cursed, emerging from the sea of students for a moment.

Kirishima had a single tear in his eyes as he clenched a fist, squeezing his eyes shut. "That's so simple and manly!" His words radiated admiration, and both Kaminari and Sora looked at him in shock.

"Huh?"

"Really?" Sora was skeptical.

"You said it." Sato nodded.

Tokoyami closed his eyes as he commented. "The top, huh? There is truth in that."

Even Riku had to agree, and he nodded as he told Sora, "He's got ambition."

_I can respect that much._

Kaminari still didn't agree. "Hang on, don't be tricked! He just made more pointless enemies!"

Most of the class had stopped paying attention by this point. Todoroki was already on his way out the door, and Yaoyorozu and Jirou were talking to each other, snickering behind Kaminari's back. Sora, Midoriya, Iida, and Uraraka just watched, and Riku had stopped being invested after he told Sora his thoughts on what Bakugo had said.

"That's right!" Mineta jumped in front of Kaminari. "We'll just be at a disadvantage at the sports festival!"

Riku sighed as he turned to look at Sora. Sora had begun to smile for some unknown reason, but it turned to a frown in an instant.

Riku's eyebrows scrunched up in confusion, and concern displayed itself in his voice, "Sora, what's-"

"Deku," Sora suddenly said, turning to Midoriya. "Are you okay?"

Midoriya had his head down, and his fists clenched, but he relaxed a little after Sora took him out of his final thoughts. "Yeah." He nodded. "I'm just...thinking about what _I'm _here for."

Riku's eyes widened. _He must've already become real friends with Midoriya if he can vaguely tell that he's feeling different than normal._

Iida and Uraraka put a hand on either of Midoriya's shoulders, and Uraraka spoke to Sora and Riku, "Do you wanna walk together on the way to the train station?"

Riku shrugged and Sora nodded vigorously.

"Of course! Just give me and Riku a chance to catch up. I have to talk to him first."

_What about?_

"Okay!" Uraraka waved to the boys, and Midoriya and Iida said various inflections of "see ya", as they left the classroom.

Most of the other students of Class A had left by now, the sea of students had left, and the remaining students in the class paid Sora and Riku no mind.

"Riku." Sora turned to him, a hopeful smile on his face. "How are you feeling now?"

"Better," Riku answered, and a smile popped up on his face. He just couldn't help but smile back at Sora.

"I can tell." Sora nodded, the smile on his face growing. "We're gonna make sure that never happens again."

Riku understood, and he sighed. It didn't matter too much to him that he was so tired, but he definitely couldn't let Sora down, not after promising to let him help with his severe lack of sleep. "Yeah."

Sora giggled as he took Riku's hand and pulled him out the door.

"Hey, Sora?" Riku said, as Sora began to run.

"Yeah?" he turned his head back.

"Thanks...for taking me to Recovery Girl."

"Oh, that's no problem, Riku! It was the infirmary bots that did that," Sora laughed. "I was just there."

"I mean, thanks for being there." Riku smiled at Sora in appreciation, and Sora smiled his signature Sora smile back.

"No problem." Then, Sora winked. "Of course I had to be there for my best friend!"

A warmth bloomed in Riku's chest as Sora sped up, forcing him to run faster.

"We better hurry before they leave us!"

Riku nodded, but his thoughts soon wandered to his earlier conversation with Aizawa, and then to last night.

_Something still isn't right with Sora's nightmares. Could it be…_

_No..._


End file.
